


the responsibilities of the justiciar

by LadySquire (ayew)



Category: Psycho-Pass
Genre: Dropped on Arrival, Gen, from the depths of my hdd, needs to be thought about and/or rewriten
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-27
Updated: 2018-09-27
Packaged: 2019-07-18 05:51:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,244
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16112171
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ayew/pseuds/LadySquire
Summary: set 3+ years after the movie. Akane is preparing for the first step in Sibyl’s plan to restructure the social system and eventually reveal the truth of its existence and is posing as an enforcer for protection from an external threat. The Sibyl System has come to consider Akane’s humanistic viewpoints to be valid to some degree and continues to study her. She is of particular interest as her position as an enforcer with a low crime coefficient provides useful data. She decides to return to her position as an Inspector in order to draw out this threat, due to information passed to her by Kogami. This information suggests that an external enemy intends to move against Sibyl.





	1. status quo ante bellum

**Author's Note:**

> i wrote this a few months back  
> havent touched it since, need to think about where its going  
> probably shouldnt read this tbh.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i need to think about where this is going, just kind of dumping it here.  
> probably best if you dont read it until i've decided where its going.

# PART 1: STORIES FROM BEFORE THE WAR

## 1: status quo ante bellum

**12-06-2119: Akane**

“Enforcer?” the Inspector asked.

“I’d like my old job back please,” the Enforcer responded.

Silence.

“Akane. I can’t just give you your old job back. You’ve been a latent criminal for six months now,” Inspector Ginoza replied dryly. A little too dryly, she supposed considering the initial shock on his face.

In response, Enforce Akane Tsunemori put a dominator in his hands and pointed it at herself. He didn’t know how she had got a dominator outside the field, but she had.

_Crime Coefficient: 39. Subject is an enforcer; enforce at w-not a target for enforcement._

Ginoza looked at once confused and suspicious.

“Why is your crime coefficient so low?” Ginoza asked.

Akane sighed.

“I have been using various mental exercises to ensure my coefficient remains above the specified minimum for latent criminality. In reality, my coefficient, after a period of meditation will return to a natural state of around 30,” Tsunemori responded. “My hue is a little harder to fake, but they don’t monitor the enforcers much. Sibyl knows we are latent criminals; why bother checking our hues regularly. However, I realised something: hue colour is not directly correlated to criminality. Sure, it usually correlates, but it some cases it can be seen to be contradictory to the coefficient, particularly if the subject has an extremely calm personality. The system acknowledged this and accepted that my hue might be a lighter colour than most enforcers.”

Ginoza was speechless.

****

**12-06-2119: Ginoza**

Ginoza decided it would be best to involve the rest of Division 1 in this…whatever it was. Shimotsuki, Hinakawa, Sugo and Kinizuka filed in to begin their workday as he went to fetch Karanomori. She was as much a part of Division 1 as the rest of them at this point.

As he walked back to the officer with her, he decided to gather some information about what exactly was going on with Akane.

“Shion, is it possible to fake your crime coefficient through mental exercises?” Ginoza asked.

Karanomori was puzzled at this very unusual question and the fact that Gino had used her first name. She considered the question for a moment.

“By fake, you imply that the coefficient will return to its previous state eventually, yes? In that case, not really. I mean, sometimes treatment methods might be temporary but it’s hardly a reliable way for someone with a high coefficient to lower their coefficient in order to appear normal,” the analyst responded.

“I didn’t mean it that way. I was thinking about someone with a low coefficient manually raising their coefficient,” the inspector clarified.

Karanomori was even more puzzled at this.

 “Well that would be more plausible. Early developmental Sibyl research has shown it is quite possible to temporarily raise your coefficient through certain exercises, which exacerbate criminal tendencies in the eyes of the Sibyl System. It’s been debated but never proven, whether this phenomenon also means the reverse is true; that by meditation or similar practises a coefficient could be lowered. However, research has shown that for these techniques to have any level of effectiveness more than a few points change the individual must begin with an extremely clear hue and mental state. Anyhow, this is pretty niche knowledge. I can’t see why a person would want to increase their coefficient anyway…” Karanomri explained offhandedly.

“You’ll see in a second, Shion,” Ginoza said, seemingly both perplexed and worried as he opened the door to the office.

The rest of the division had arranged themselves in a loose semi-circle around the office, varyingly propped up on desks or sitting on chairs turned to face the centre of the room.

“Ok, everyone is here. We have a situation to discuss,” Ginoza said. “To begin with, I want you all to point a dominator at Akane.”

Akane sighed. The other members of Division 1 either raised an eyebrow or stared at her perplexedly.

“Does everyone really need to? You’ve already seen it yourself Ginoza-san, why don’t you tell them?” Akane said, unperturbed. She remain so calm— always—that it had begun to grate on Ginoza’s nerves since they had swapped roles.

“It’s not something one believes without seeing it with their own eyes,” Gino rebutted. “Although Shion will have to rely on our word, unless she wants to become an enforcer.”

Akane, still frighteningly collected, passed the Dominator to Yayoi.

_Crime Coefficient: 29. Subject is an enforcer; warning your actions may be subject to disci-not a target for enforcement._

Yayoi gasped, dropping the dominator. She opened her communicator out and ran a psycho-pass on Akane.

_Clear turquoise._

 “ _How?_ ” Yayoi questioned disquietly. “How is your coefficient so low?

“Want to tell everyone else what you saw, Yayoi? Might save us some time,” Akane queried.

“Her crime coefficient. Its 29. Her psycho-pass. It’s clear turquoise.”

…

Silence. Everyone except Ginoza was stunned.

Mika was the first to break the silence.

“What? How? Why?” she demanded.

Akane gave Mika the same explanation she gave Ginoza.

“That doesn’t fully answer my question, Tsunemori,” Mika stated, she slammed her hands down on the desk opposite Akane and turned her hard piercing gaze upon her. Akane remained as stoic as usual. _“_ Why? And don’t you **dare** lie to me.”

“I can’t tell you the full truth unfortunately. However, I can tell you the abstract truth. Firstly, there is an external threat of significance that is a threat to my safety. As an enforcer, I never leave this building and am always watched; it’s safer for me. Also, there is a truth that will be shown to this country soon, and I will need to act when it is shown. Just wait a little bit longer,” Akane explained.

Ginoza sighed.

“I’ve known that you’ve been keeping secrets ever since I was an Enforcer under you. But, I’ll be patient. I’ll see what happens. And as for you; your future and position in the MWPSB isn’t in my hands. Kasei will decide it, and you’ll probably be moved to another division consider that we already have two inspectors,” Ginoza said.

“It’s okay; Kasei is already aware of the situation,” Akane smiled humorously, internally laughing at her own private joke. “And I’ll be staying in Division One as a Special Inspector. You all get to enjoy the pleasure of working under me,” Akane continued, her grin growing somewhat sly and sardonic as she talked. “Inspectors Ginoza and Shimotsuki will continue your jobs as before, with a new Enforcer assigned to replace me. I will not disrupt you, except for to steal Enforcers and/or yourselves when I need some assistance. I might also weight into your cases a little. If needed, more Enforcers will be transferred to Division One.”

Stunned silence ensued.

“You guys seem to be enjoying the jaw on the floor idiot look today far too much,” Akane noted.

Ginoza gathered the nerve to speak.

“So. err... What will you be doing exactly, as a ‘Special Inspector’?” Ginoza queried.

“As, I said, have patience. The answers to your questions will become apparent,” Akane responded. “Oh, and we’ll be moving offices. We will probably need to have extra Enforcers at some point in the future; and Shion?”

“Yes, Akane?” Shion responded.

“You’ll be a full time member of Division One. We have a very large office space to move into and your equipment will be moved into the office,” Akane stated no room for argument. With that said, she turned to her workspace and begin packing her stuff up.

No one else moved from his or her positions, opting to stare at Akane’s back instead. Ginoza was muttering something under his breath. Mika was trying her best to hide in the shadows under the window. Slowly, they begun to pack up their workstations lethargically, still shell-shocked.

****

**02-08-2119: Akane**

“Today, ladies and gentlemen,” Akane announced grandly as she entered the office. “Is the day!”

“Still living in your enforcer’s quarters Inspector? You’re always here before Shimotsuki and Ginoza,” Sugo enquired.

“Yeah, something like that. But, as I said, today is the day when it either all starts to come crumbling down or we move forward. Either way, you’ll want to pay attention to the mandatory public broadcast,” Akane said.

In the next 15 minutes, the two inspectors and an uncharacteristically bedraggled Kunizuka and Shion straggled into the room, rounding out the division.

“Busy night?” Akane asked, raising her eyebrows.

“Yeah, yeah,” Shion responded waving a hand in her direction, a loud yawn escaping her mouth.

“There will be a public announcement that will be pushed out to all communicators before nine o’clock,” Akane said, glancing up at the clock which read 8:59. “Also a new Enforcer should be here as well. If he doesn’t get here on time, he’ll probably get held up watching the announcement.”

Mika stared at Akane.

“It’s the truth about Sibyl isn’t it, Inspector?” Mika asked worriedly.

 “You know, then…huh…” Akane said distractedly. “When did that happen...”

“During the Kamui case, Kasei—

At that, the clock struck nine, and everyone’s communicators buzzed

Silence came over the office like a dense fog.

Mika was the first to say something.

“It’s not…,” she said, confused.

“No, it’s not that. Sibyl doesn’t feel the public is ready for it. Personally I don’t think they’ll ever be ready for it,” Akane responded.

The rest of them were still enthralled in their communicators. The broadcast finished at exactly 9:12, but no one decided to clear the oppressive silence until 9:23:05.

“Okay, I’ll do it. What does everyone think?” Akane asked openly.

“Giving us some personal freedom back? Democratically elected positions, which have some influence. Promises of these people being able to talk **to** the system?” Ginoza mused. “It’s an interesting development whose impacts are not yet obvious.”

“Hmm…that’s not quite true,” Akane mused.

“What isn’t?” Ginoza asked.

“Hmm…, telling you would tell you the truth,” Akane responded cryptically.

“We’re not getting any answers out of you are we?” Ginoza asked, eyebrow raised.

“Hmm…, yes I suppose…,” Akane responded.

“Ginoza, your leg is being pulled,” Shion stated, lazily.

“Hmm…,” Akane said, faux-contemplation visible on her face.

Laughter broke out, and out of fear of committing a faux pas none of them raised the topic of Akane’s naming in the broadcast.

The new enforcer opened the door and hesitated, unsure of what to do next.

“Uh…Proconsul?” the new face asked.

“Oh, Enforcer Akiko Takahashi,” Akane said. “Welcome to…

“Division 1!”

“The Proconsul’s Office?”

“Super Special Secret Ops?”

“It’s both Division One and the Proconsul’s Office, I guess. You guys are Division 1, and I’m the Proconsul. My ‘Office’ will be moving in over the next few weeks. We’ll continue to work together when needed,” Akane supplied.

“I see why we moved into such a large office,” Sugo said.

“Yes, ma’am, sir, captain, inspector, Proconsul, majesty!” Hinakawa joked. Akane had noticed he’d come out of his shell a little in the past few years, but he still was hardly Kagari. Akane wondered if Shion had put him up to it. She fixed him with a withering glare either way.

He shrunk a little, still a little in awe of Akane.

Akane smiled. She wished this moment would last forever.

She looked at the communiqué on her monitor, and knew it wouldn’t.

 

 

CLASSIFIED COMMUNICATIONS.

PROCONSUL.

AEGIS.

~~02-08-2118~~

 

THE FOLLOWING IS A TRANSCRIPT OF AN INTERCEPTED COMMUNICATION BETWEEN THE FIGURE KNOWN AS ‘BARON’ AND AN UNKNOWN INTERMEDIARY.

**FRONT:**

_Red,_

_Mark wants to ask North if she knows how to help him._

_P.S. I hope this finds you well._

**REVERSE UNDER UV LIGHT:**

ATONEDONOTRETURNL3LESSTHANHISBLUEH1POINTATTHISTOG5NTREYTHMOPPLL&YHGASYDBTYYTUUIIQ2JGHDUEMGSJWLA1NVNWJJNDNFNGHHHJFDPPASDJDEGMFMGMRG9.

 


	2. proconsular assistance

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> why is this chapter so short, ayew of three months ago?

# 2: proconsular assistance

_A proconsul was an official of ancient Rome who acted on behalf of a consul. The term is also used in recent history for officials with delegated authority._

 

**05-08-2119: Akane**

Akane felt the cold grip of the barrel of a pre-sibyl gun in her left coat pocket.

Comforting, and daunting simultaneously.

She stopped and looked out at the world around her. Sometimes, she struggled not to see them as Makishima had; as sheep. However, she always remembered that they were all individuals. Separate and distinct, yet through the symbiotic relationship of society brought into a whole.

The whole was made up of flawed individuals. But to give up on the whole’s value was to accept that humanity was valueless. Akane accepted the individual’s flaws and moved to counterbalance them.

Still, she still had copious self-doubt. She remembered that being emotionless isn’t strength; it’s a false mask. Her time around Ginoza had taught her that pushing others away wouldn’t bring happiness. Yet could she let _him_ into her life again? Her thoughts were too conflicted…too abstract. She didn’t know herself, truly, did she?

**_[fix]_ **

But, it didn’t matter.

_Focus on the goals you know you want, Akane._

Yes. She would continue with her plans. Defeat this threat. Manoeuvre Sibyl.

**_[it]_ **

But first she had an old friend to meet.

She walked up to the inconspicuous apartment, which she had purchased but only rarely inhabited. Firstly, she had become an enforcer and now she preferred to stay on site anyway. But it served nicely as a safehouse, and she had outfitted it as such when she bought the place.

She pounded on the door twice in rapid succession.

“Blue, I’m home!” she shouted.

She heard two locks sliding away. The creak of the door opening. She touched the cool metal of the handgun and stepped inside.

 

 

**05-08-2118: Akane**

Akane.

Kogami.

She opened. Stepping out the back of the apartment, as she offered him a smoke.

He parried. Taking the smoke, and offering her his lighter.

Her riposte was a smile.

His resolve faltered, and he muttered the first words.

“I’m sorry,” Kogami said.

“You’re not, and there’s nothing to be sorry for,” Akane re-joined.

He nodded conceding the point.

She sighed, dropping the shield. Suddenly, he found himself enveloped by her.

“I missed you, Ko,” Akane said.

“I—,” Kogami started.

“I, what?” Akane inquired.

“I did too,” Kogami responded.

“More now then ever, you have this pull…and I hate myself for allowing it to dictate my actions. I feel like a hormonal teenager at times, around you,” Akane said. “And this feeling…I want to trust you, completely...I want a confidant.”

“You ca—,” Kogami started, before he found Akane’s hand over his mouth.

“Can I… Can I really? Why are you here Ko? What do you hope to achieve?” Akane asked. She rested her palm on the gun and drew it out of her coat.

He raised an eyebrow.

“Tell me,” she commanded.

“I want to help. Make things better,” he responded.

“Eloquent,” Akane stated sarcastically.

“Sometimes, simplicity is best,” Kogami replied.

“And you think protecting Sibyl will ‘make things better’?” Akane asked bluntly.

“These past two years, I’ve continued to move around. After leaving SEAUn, I realised something,” Kogami said. “We got a positive outcome. But it wasn’t perfect; and I couldn’t save everyone, nor could I find justice for everyone. Doing so would not be pragmatic. I can’t turn my back on Japan because it isn’t perfect. Once upon a time I thought you needed to destroy to create; and that’s true if you want to create something perfect at the end. If you want it to not bear the marks of imperfection you destroyed it for in the beginning. But pragmatically, you usually have to settle for second best. Patching up the cracks and painting over the façade is sometimes all you can do. Superior results are found through a series of compromises. Failing to compromise often costs you more than you gain.”

…

“No response?” Kogami queried.

“Not really. Sometimes listening works better,” Akane said, wondering about Kogami newfound worldview. She though she should be excited that he was beginning to see things like her, but in some ways, it was a realisation that was more bitter than sweet. “Well, I listened to your problems, now you get to listen to mine. But first, you are going to fix me something to eat. And I’m going to find some alcohol.”

“Didn’t you just force me to tell you my problems at gun point?” Kogami asked. “Its not like I forced my problems on you.”

“Yes, I did. And that’s exactly why you will do as I say.”

 One stir fry and two glasses of red wine later, Akane and Kogami were suitably relaxed to rest against each other on the couch as they discussed two years of missed history. He was dually surprised to find out about her new position and her previous position as an enforcer. She discussed a few things she was undecided about, but in the end, she stopped short of truly confiding in him.

Next time… maybe.

****

**06-08-2119: Akane**

The Baron lined the hostages up.

Akane asked him, “Is this really necessary?”

He responded, ‘Of course, dear Blue. If you want to bring down the Chinese Union as you wish, with the resources we have, this is the only pragmatic way!”

Baron Red shot the first one. But as he went to shoot the second, the bullet hit Kogami instead.

“You really should be more careful, Red!” Baron exclaimed gleefully.

Akane gasped, waking violently from her dream. She smelled something cooking in the kitchen.

She got up, hesitant at first, before becoming confidant in herself as she looked upon Kogami in the kitchen.       

“He’s here, Akane,” Kogami said, as they sat down to eat.            

“How do you know that’s its really Baron?” Akane asked.

“He left this message where I would find it,” Kogami replied.

Do not be so arrogant as to remove yourself from the drift, Blue Hand. I will find God.

-B.R.

“What does he want here?” Akane asked, dourly.

“If I had to guess…he thinks he can harness the Sibyl System to complete his plan,” Kogami replied.

“But his plan is fantasy! Illogical and impossible! God does not **exist**!” Akane said, slowly building in volume before she slammed her hand down on the countertop. “He’s fucking mad!”

“When he says God…he told you what he meant, Akane,” Kogami replied softly. “He believes that he can answer _the_ question with the processing power that Sibyl provides.”

“Doesn’t make him any less mad—," Akane growled.

“Yeah, doesn’t make him any less crazy. He’s fallen into the trap of grandeur. Mortality, humanistic pursuits…do not interest him. He thinks himself to be…,” Kogami said, trailing off.

“Above us?” Akane provided

“Above us, yeah” Kogami sighed.

“Won’t make him any less of a nightmare to subdue,” Akane replied coldly. “I will see him dead or defeated before this is over.”

“Are you sure about this Akane?” Kogami asked hesitantly.

Akane only looked at him in response. Kogami knew it was really a pointless question. He knew Akane. She was not indecisive once she made a decision. She did not back down. It is not in her nature, as forward focused as she is.

Kogami sighed.

Akane offered him a cigarette and they partook in the shared intimacy of it.

Smoke curled around their faces as the leaned against the countertop.

“It’s all so ephemeral isn’t it?” Kogami asked, semi-rhetorically.

“That’s what gives me the hope that should have forsaken me, Ko,” Akane mused in reponse.

“Oh?” he responded, inviting Akane to clarify.

“If everything is impermanent, then hope is the logical conclusion,” Akane explained. “If one looks to the future and realises it could be anything, then will hope not be the obvious result? The past is irrelevant. To stay within its bounds is not healthy for anyone, because there is nothing but misery within it.”

 “I’m heading out. I need to expedite some of my plans. See you later, Shinya,” Akane said flippantly.

“See you, Blue Hand,” Kogami muttered as Akane left the room.

So, it began…


	3. amber

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ayew of three months ago shame on you. way too many cliches.  
> also wtf ayew dont name characters by gemstones or colours, thats just cringy.

# 3: amber

“He saw it in her eyes. The anguish, the frustration. The terrible nothing that clawed inside and sought to smother her. She knew. It was there, inside. She had been broken.   
  
Then she smiled. Oh, storms. She smiled  _anyway_.”

_Words of Radiance Ch.71: Brandon Sanderson_

 

 

**03-02-2119: Akane**

_Damn it._

He’d made his first move.

Akane looked down at the traumatised adolescent. She looked on the older side of adolescence...maybe 17 or 18—

Huh.

She was certainly shaken up, but she didn’t seem too distraught. Her psycho-pass…

Murky pink.

Very clear, considering the circumstances. Akane doubted whether even her own notoriously resilient psycho-pass would be that clear if her mother had been murdered in front of her.

She walked over to the victim. Her eyes…

No, not naivete. Not spun glass. Velvet coated steel. She would not want to be coddled, but would welcome emotional comfort, Akane deduced.

“Ah…Miss?” Akane asked, a suitably pensive and sorrowful look on her face, but clear of pity.

“Call me Amber,” the girl replied. “Its not my real name, but I hate being called by any of my real ones.”

“Ah...do you have any family? Father?” Akane asked hesitantly.

“My parents died five years ago. Rest of the ‘family’ wishes I was,” Amber replied evenly. One might go as far to say stoically. Akane noticed the slight inflection on the words family and died.

“Who was she then?” Akane, asked.

“The only person who has ever truly cared about me. She helped me when I was without help,” Amber, replied, grimacing painfully, a tear finding its way down her cheek.

“So that’s how it is then. Fuck you Baron,” Akane said as she sat down. “You’re underage, but barely,   and surely the tragic backstory gives me some leniency here…smoke?”

“Oh…I don’t…” she replied. Akane offered her a flask. She kept it on her for times like this, usually for herself.

She looked at its contents, shrugged and took a small sip. Akane looked carefully at Amber, and seeing she was taking it easy, sat down softly next to her on the curb. Akane wasn’t needed here; firstly, she didn’t work as an inspector anymore, and secondly, this was Division Two’s case. But when she realised _he_ was behind it...

“’When you gaze into the abyss, the abyss gazes into to you’,” Akane stated. “That isn’t necessarily true… don’t you think its truer to say, ‘When you gaze into the abyss, you see the truth’?”

“What does that mean?” Amber asked, curious.

“The metaphorical abyss of the idiom isn’t an endless pit of despair…its more like a mirror in which you and the world around you are reflected, in their truest form. And, more often than not we then find—or make—hell of our own volition,” Akane replied, enigmatically. “Remember that, if nothing else.”

Silence reigned, but neither woman saw fit to break it, until long after Division One had left the scene.

“You got anyone to stay with tonight?” Akane asked, after some time.

“Not really…”

“There’s a bed at NONA tower if you want it,” Akane responded.

Amber gazed into Akane’s eyes. Silent understanding was eventually reached.

“I’d appreciate it,” Amber said.

 

**07-02-2119: Amber**

“Good morning!” Akane chirped as she entered the office. Amber couldn’t find the will to be as upbeat. Butterflies were circling in her stomach; this was a new environment to her. And besides, she couldn’t escape the events of only one week ago.

_She gasped at the sight before her. Oh no. Not her, anyone else. Please._

She shook herself out of it. She had to focus. Today was important, Amber!

“Who’s the new girl?” a woman asked.

“This is Amber, Kiyoko,” Akane replied.

Amber disliked Kiyoko instantly. The feeling was mutual. Sometimes some things are just not destined to be. Or maybe, it was a cosmic misunderstanding. Either way, the two were destined to glare at each other as they passed in the corridor for as long as they were forced to grace each other with their presence.

“Hello, Amber. May I ask what exactly your role here is to be?” Kiyoko asked somewhat contemptuously. Amber wondered if she should’ve dressed up a little more suitably then her hoodie and jeans, but she didn’t exactly have access to any other clothes; nor had she ever owned a blazer or a pencil skirt like what Akane was wearing. Still, Akane hadn’t said anything, and _besides_ she seemed to know her pretty well. She had an uncanny ability to read people. And besides, these clothes were better suited to her role.

“Uh...Akane asked me to help her to gather information, at the street-level. I have some…prior experience and training,” Amber responded. “And I have a personal…grievance, with the prey we seek.”

“I also need some help in the field. Amber has some martial training that may be of assistance. I’d rather not have to rely on Division One so much. Besides…there are limitations in using the enforcers,” Akane replied, ever the enigma.

Akane introduced her to the inspectors and enforcers of Division One, their faces blurred together, as did the rest of the day. Too much at once, but Amber wouldn’t let anyone think she felt overwhelmed.  She knew Akane saw through her like glass, as evidenced by the knowing smiles Akane offered her.

Still, Amber liked her new work. She felt…at home. At ease, even. She wished these little moments would last forever.

She knew they would not. But for a while…Amber could cope.


End file.
